A landscape-oriented approach to urbanisation and early state formation on the Konya and Karaman plains, Turkey

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This paper synthesises the data and results of the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project (2016–2020) in order to address the earliest evidence for cities and states on the Konya and Karaman plains, central Turkey. A nested and integrative approach is developed that draws on a wide range of spatially extensive datasets to outline meaningful trends in settlement, water management and regional defensive systems during the Bronze and Iron Ages. The significance of the regional centre of Türkmen-Karahöyük for a reconstruction of early state polities between the 13th and eighth centuries BCE is addressed. In light of this regional analysis, it is tentatively suggested that, during the Late Bronze Age, Türkmen-Karahöyük was the location of the city of Tarḫuntašša, briefly the Hittite capital during the reign of Muwatalli II. More assuredly, based on the analysis of the newly discovered Middle Iron Age TÜRKMEN-KARAHÖYÜK 1 inscription, it is proposed that Türkmen-Karahöyük was the seat of a kingdom during the eighth century BCE that likely encompassed the Konya and Karaman plains.</jats:p>

An archaeometric study of the Konya basin metallic ware through FTIR and XRD analysis with chemometrics: Central Anatolian Early Bronze Age ceramics

“…S1 in supplemental material 2 for their location), as well as 10 sherds of local wares that are also attributable to the same chronological period, c.2750-2200 BCE (see supplemental material 3). All samples were collected within the framework of the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project (KRASP; www.krasp.net), an archaeological survey focused on the modern administrative districts of Çumra and Karatay in the Konya Plain, Turkey (Massa et al, 2019(Massa et al, , 2020(Massa et al, , 2021.…”

Breaking continuity? Site formation and temporal depth at Çatalhöyük and Tell Sabi Abyad

“…Nonetheless, both sites were dominant, important visual points of reference in their contemporaneous prehistoric landscapes (Akkermans 2013a: 73). Survey of the Konya plain conducted by Douglas Baird recorded sites earlier than and later than the main occupation at Çatalhöyük, but only very few sites contemporary with the seventh-millennium sequence (Baird 2005; see also Massa et al 2020). While survey of the Balikh floodplain has yielded several sites contemporary with Tell Sabi Abyad, the longevity of the latter stands in contrast with most other sites in the region (Akkermans 1993).…”